Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record-Setting Dive of the Bathysphere

Rosenstock (Dorothea’s Eyes) provides a vivid account of a history-making dive of the submersible Bathysphere. In 1930, eminent scientist William Beebe and Bathysphere designer Otis Barton descend more than 800 feet in a herky-jerky plunge that Roy (How to Be an Elephant) depicts with stylized, action-packed watercolors. Text placed vertically alongside pictures of the swinging sphere (the repeated phrase “down, down into the deep” steps down the page) pulls the reader further into inky blue-black darkness: “400 feet. Stop. Colder. Breathe in. 500 feet. Stop. Darker. Breathe out.” Spreads alternate between scenes of the two explorers working inside the cramped Bathysphere and exterior views of the descent. The tale of this perilous expedition climaxes in a spectacular gatefold showing the small searchlight-lit vehicle hanging amid myriad whitish-gray sea creatures, in an expanse of dark water. Archival photographs, a source list, and lengthy author and illustrator notes conclude this tribute to the power of curiosity, imagination, and ambition. Ages 4–8. [em]Author’s agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. Illustrator’s agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (June) [/em]